This investigation determined if caffeine had an influence on reaction time in the standing shot put throw. Male (N = 4) and female (N = 5) small-college shot putters received either a piece of gum designed to deliver 100 mg of caffeine in a buccal manner, or a placebo gum. The gum was chewed for five minutes then discarded. Ss completed a 5-minute hand-held psychomotor vigilance test on a palm device to assess reaction time in milliseconds. Following the initial pre-exercise vigilance test, a warm-up was performed that consisted of a series of five practice throws with a shot put. The warm-up was followed by 10 standing attempts with the shot put that were ~2.5 minutes apart. After completing all throws, Ss completed another 5 minute post-exercise psychomotor vigilance test.

There were no significant main or interaction effects for differences in reaction time among conditions or pre- and post- times. There was a significant negative relationship between peak throw distance and reaction time after Ss completed all 10 throws in the placebo condition.

Implication. Caffeine does not influence reaction time in the standing shot put throw. The significant negative correlation in the placebo condition is interesting.